The game of golf is played by performing a number of shots to move a ball from a teeing ground to the fairway and/or to the green, and into the hole or cup. The art of putting is considered by many to be the easiest way to quickly improve ones score and is often considered the final determining factor for a player to improve from a good player to an exceptional player. The art of putting is based upon two key premises; the line (or path) and pace (or speed) of the rolling ball towards the cup. The faster the pace the less a putt breaks. Thus, the line is at least partially determined by the pace of the putt. Pace is affected by various factors such as: force of the club, the length and grain of the grass, conditions of the playing surface, break of the playing surface and whether a putt is uphill or downhill.
Ascertaining the correct pace and line for the conditions of the green is generally a golfer's first step to putting the ball in the cup. The second part of the putting process is the actual putting stroke. The putting stroke is honed through practice and repetition.
Examples of top tier golfers using plumb bobbing in an effort to read putts are abundant throughout the modern history of golf. The most common way to plumb bob is to stand in line with the lie of the ball to the cup and lightly hold a club, such as the putter, between two fingers near the end of the shaft and position the straight bottom edge of the grip or manufacturers information band (level line) visually next to the cup and allow gravity to pull the reference point to level. The golfer then uses their dominant eye to evaluate whether the top surface of the cup is level with or slopes away in either direction from the level line. This method has several issues which limits its effectiveness. It is often difficult to assess subtle pitches, especially on longer putts. Moreover, few putter shafts are perfectly vertical in the requisite dimensions (unless they are perfectly balanced) which leads to error.
The current method does not provide a mechanism for assessing whether a putt is uphill or downhill. Also, the current method does not provide a method for confirmation and/or verification of a players' read. Additionally, the average golf participant is a male between the ages 45-65 years of age. A major problem for participants this age is the deterioration of their eyesight. This limits the effectiveness of the plumb bobbing technique.